Copied this from a post of mine on fodor's (sorry, but I'm swamped at work).

Unbelievably, I think I've managed to pull together my Northern Spain trip in the last week. Leaving in 2 weeks and have all of the hotels arranged except for La Coruna, Llanes and Luarca. I've searched past posts and there isn't alot on these cities. I'm traveling solo using public transportation and looking for a place that's centrally located - I don't want to depend on a car or taxi to get into the main city. My budget is around 100 euros or less. I don't have to stay anywhere fancy but just clean and safe. I prefer smaller hotels to the larger hotels.

Here's what I've come up with so far. I'd love to get feedback on these hotels and any others that you may have visited:

Luarca - Hotel Gayosa; seems nice and centrally located

Llanes - Posada del Rey; I tried emailing them Tuesday but haven't received a response; the website that I have doesn't work; This seems like a really cute place though

A Coruna - This is where I'm the most uncertain. The Finisterre is out of my price range I believe. The Tryp Coruna is not in the heart of things (I think?). I read about the Alborain and it sounded nice but I saw a picture from a web search and wasn't impressed.

Where I'm staying the other parts of the trip:

Santiago de Compostela -
Aires Nunes,http://www.pousadasdecompostela.com/
I stayed at the As Artes on my last trip and it was full, but this place looks great.

Monforte de Lemos - parador; haven't found any information on this parador on the board so it will be a first!

Leon-
Posada Regia http://www.regialeon.com/
They have a new annex next to the original building. I stayed in the original building 2 years ago and it was wonderful. Hope the annex is as nice.

Madrid-
Hotel Plaza Mayor, http://www.h-plazamayor.com/index.html
Great location, rooms are clean but a bit smallish however it's only for one night.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi there. I can't imagine that you couldn't just show up in Llanes at that time of year and find a nice hostal. Llanes rocks, you'll love it. For A Coruña, Hotel Riazor is big, but right on the beach, and not very expensive, I don't think. It's really nice, and right in the middle of everything. Get a room overlooking the beach (most do). I've stayed there, and really liked it, but I don't know what they'll charge you, since our stay was part of a big group tour which I organized. But try this link: http://www.riazorhotel.com/

I would recommend the Hesperia A Coruña where I stayed for two nights last month. It's a fairly new hotel, the rooms (and bathrooms) are spacious with all the amenities, and it's within walking distance of the beaches and lots of good restaurants. I paid 68 euros a night (plus IVA) when I booked through Travelocity.

Thank you both! I checked out the hotels on line and messaged them if they had availability!

Aidance-
The Riazor has availability.
Is it walkable to the old town from the hotel? What about the tapas bars/restaurants in the evening - is it walkable and safe for a female travlelig alone?

Thanks!

The area is safe as can be. You can walk easily to Maria Pita plaza, the port, and the midieval section, past the plaza. We always ate tapas in the streets off the plaza. All the food is great-- go to the most crowded ones for the very best. There is late night music in the bars closer to the Riazor. Make sure to walk along the paseo maritimo--it may be the longest one in Spain. Check out the ceramic works on each of the red light poles. There were all done by the same Spanish artist, and each one is inspired by something nearby. Definitely visit the Torre Hercules, and take a long walk east from there along the shore. You'll see some amazing rocky shores and some sculptures, including some stonehenge looking things. The ones with the red writing on them were put up to commemorate the deaths of all the people who were taken there and shot in Franco's day. I'd post a picture here if I knew how. I spent a month in A Coruña in 2001 and hated to leave. If you want to know more, (about Cantabria also) send me a private message or email.

Thanks aidence!
The Hesperia is booked so you just clinched my decision on where to stay in La Coruna.

Everyone who visits here and my books just rave about this city, but it is rarely heard about - so this makes me extra excited and curious.

Also, thank you for the offer of some help off line. I appreciate it. Emailed 2 hotels in Luarca and Llanes today and if I receive favorable responses then my trip is nailed down.

CathyM, I hope you booked your room at La/A Coruña's Hotel Riazor hotel through their website @ http://www.riazorhotel.com/ . I'm not sure you were aware of their URL earlier.

Saludos, MadridMan

Thanks, MadridMan. Yes, I booked through the website. I found it using HotelSearch.com which is one of my favorite sites (other than searching through previous posts) for researching hotels in Spain.

Hotel Search.com